The Training of Uub
by Silver Warrior
Summary: Semisequel to Warrior's Displaced in Time. A basic look into the training of Uub under his new teachers. Currently rated 'T' to be safe, may go up.
1. Training Begins

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Z/GT is owned by Funimation and Akira Toriyama. I own the original characters of Jesse and Zarvon, and that's it.

To be perfectly honest, I never thought of writing this until I rewatched _The Mask of Zorro_ and watched _The Legend of Zorro_, and then I felt I just had to do it.

- -

"Well, you've trained with Goku for the last year, young Uub," Jesse says as he leads his new apprentice to the training area he had developed, in a nearby cave system, "what have you learned from him?"

"Well, I've learned how to manipulate my ki to fly and use energy blasts," Uub begins, "I've also learned to sense power levels and compare their strength to my own, though I'm still learning how to detect hidden power levels and masked power levels. And I've learned the Kamesennin Style of Martial Arts. "

"You know that I've absorbed the knowledge of that style from Goku's future counterpart," Jesse says as he lights one of the torches with a weak ki blast, "do you know why I didn't train you myself?"

"No sir," Uub admits.

"Because for all the skill I've acquired as a hand-to-hand fighter, I am a swordsman first and foremost," Jesse explains, "and I did not acquire most of my skill in hand-to-hand honestly. Goku, however, is the epitome of a hand-to-hand combatant. His skills in that area are unmatched, even by Vegeta and Zarvon. No one, living or dead, is his equal in skill in that area. You needed to learn from the best, and that's just who Goku was."

"He used all of his skill to train you like he wanted to train Gohan, how he was able to train Goten before Goten became more interested in girls and his social life," Jesse continues, "he taught you to be the next Heir of the Kamesennin Style, just as Master Roshi trained him and his adoptive grandfather Gohan to be in their day. You are not there yet, but Goku has done what he can for you. The rest of the journey to become the next Master of the Kamesennin Style is up to you. But, you have far more potential to merely fight with your fists. Tell me, why do you wish to learn to fight?"

"Because you said you would teach me," Uub replies, confused.

"Wrong!" Jesse snaps, "why do _you_ wish to learn to fight?"

Uub is silent for a few moments, then he answers in a soft voice. "To fight Demons, like those who killed my parents. To destroy them all."

Jesse studies Uub for a moment, his gaze serious. "That is not a good reason, Uub."

"What!" Uub stares at his new teacher. How could he say that revenge wasn't a good reason to learn how to fight?

"Uub, revenge is a fool's game," Jesse says seriously, "I've seen firsthand what it can do to a person, experienced it myself and seen what I might have become on the face of my future counterpart. It cost him his life and only incredible circumstances brought him back and saved him from Hell. But, I am not saying that it is a bad thing, only that you control your desire for revenge, to not let it rule you. Those who slew your parents are dead, but I can teach you to destroy those like them. I can teach you to take your revenge with pride, with skill, and, most importantly, with honor."

"Without honor, one who wields a sword is nothing more than a common thug," Jesse continues, "trash who does not deserve to be taught the finer points of kenjutsu. You have potential, Uub, potential even greater than mine. I have pretty much reached the limits of my skill; I've had six thousand years to do it, after all. But you, my boy, have the potential to become the greatest Warrior the universe has ever seen. You have the potential to become even more powerful than the Saiyans, both of the present and of legend. You have the potential to become the greatest swordsman to ever live, potential you can _only_ reach by training with me, because only I know the most powerful styles to ever exist. If you only learn hand-to-hand, you only use a small fraction of your true potential. I can help bring out the rest. So tell me, Uub, why do you truly wish to learn what only I can teach you?"

Uub swallows, extremely nervous under Jesse's intense gaze, but he manages to control his voice enough to answer evenly. "I want to make sure that what happened to me happens to no one else."

Jesse studies Uub again, then smiles faintly. "And that is the answer I was looking for."

Small spheres of weak ki form around Jesse's hands before scattering across the cavern, hitting the torches spread throughout the cavern, lighting them. The light reveals a huge cavern, subtly reinforced with specially treated beams of the same material used for the gravity room. The beams would absorb the excess energy emitted by those within the room, keeping them stronger and more durable than almost anything else in the universe, save for katchin and a few other metals.

"Why torches?" Uub asks.

"Too troublesome to set up a self-sufficient electric generator," Jesse replies, "not to mention it could get damaged later on in your training. And you have to learn how to fight with little, uneven, or no light. You can train your eyes and your ki sense all you want, but your real power will be in using ALL of your senses. Goku can detect the subtle vibrations in the air and fight in total, absolute darkness, as can I though it took me nearly three hundred years to reach the level Goku's at with it. You might reach that level after about five, maybe ten years. It took Goku two."

"You're saying I'm not as good as Goku," Uub pouts.

"Uub, _no one's_ as good as Goku," Jesse grins, "that guy may not be the most powerful, or the smartest fighter, or even the most skilled, but he adapts. He adapts faster than anyone I've ever met or heard of. Even the greatest practitioner of my primary katana kenjutsu style could not adapt as quickly as Goku. If he were born of any species other than Saiyan, he would be an even more powerful Warrior than I am, or ever could be. He has a true, noble heart. He's made some bad decisions, to be sure. Like staying dead after Cell's defeat or staying away from Earth after defeating Frieza, or even not taking care of the Evil Buu himself when he was more than powerful enough, but his heart has never wavered from doing what he believed was best for his friends and family. Actually, things might have turned out better if Gohan's mother hadn't forced him to give up training for studying to be a scholar, but that's the past."

"But Uub, Goku is something to aspire to. He has the natural talent, but so do you. I had to train for six thousand years and I'm still not as good as Goku in my own way of fighting. "

Jesse claps his hands and goes over to a stand that held many different kinds of swords and other bladed weapons, all of them obviously dulled for training use. "All right. Now, it is time for your training to begin. You, Uub, are built for speed, which is the embodiment of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style of kenjutsu. Originally, this style was sealed by height and speed. When you die, hopefully you will meet the man who taught me, the 13th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi School, Seijuro Hiko the 13th. Then you will meet the true embodiment of this school. Even now, in a contest of pure kenjutsu skill, I doubt I could defeat him unless he let me. But speed is what enables this style to truly be as feared as it once was. The two most feared swordsmen to ever live were the Hitokiri Battousai and the Blade of Death. The Hitokiri Battousai was the first student of Hiko-Shishou(1). His name was Kenshin Himura, so named by Hiko-Shishou himself when he took him in and taught him kenjutsu. He left at the age of fourteen, with not even a decade of teaching behind him and the final techniques unlearned, and he changed the world as the greatest manslayer of the Bakumatsu revolution in ancient Japan. But then he set aside his katana and took up a reverse-bladed sword to atone for his sins. He has long since gone on to be with his family and friends in Heaven, despite all of the evil he believes himself to have done. His handiwork, though forgotten by the world now, still shaped it into what it is."

"And the Blade of Death?" Uub asks tentatively. Jesse's smile turns sad.

"The Blade of Death was the most heartless killing machine to ever exist. You've been told of Kid Buu, how he was created to be the ultimate engine of destruction? Well, the Blade of Death wasn't created to be a destroyer, he chose to become one of his own free will. He cut a swath of destruction across the entire planet, creating such a reputation that his name lives on to this name as a nightmare to tell children about to scare them into behaving across the entire universe! The Blade of Death lived up to his name, killing hundreds if not thousands of people over the course of only two years. And then, he just ceased to be."

"It's speculated by some, no matter how incredulous the theory may be, that the Blade of death is still alive somewhere, and is just waiting for an opportune time to return and restart a wave of slaughter and terror."

"Is the rumor true?" Uub asks as Jesse hands him a blunted rapier.

"Who can say?" Jesse half-smiles, "now, what do you know of how to use that?"

Uub frowns and points at the tip of the sword. "Pointy end goes in the other man?"

Jesse sighs. "This is going to take a lot of work." (2)

* * *

"This is called a training circle," Jesse states as he steps into the center of the multi-layered circle that stood in the middle of the cavern, "the Master's Wheel. While you are under my tutelage in the various arts of kenjutsu, this circle will be your world, your whole life. Until I tell you otherwise, nothing else exists. Not Demons, not Goku, no one and nothing. Until I tell you otherwise, there is nothing outside it. As your skill with the sword improves, you will move on to the next level, to a smaller circle. With each new circle your world contracts, further focusing your training to a single point and bringing you that much closer to Mastery. You will travel through the entirety of this circle numerous times before your training is complete. Do you understand?" (3)

"Yes sir!" Uub says clearly, holding his blunted rapier carefully.

Jesse nods. "Good. First, you shall train in the use of the rapier, as the Spanish swordsmen used them in my day. It was one of the more elegant styles of kenjutsu, and perhaps the most flexible depending on the skill of the user. However, to become skilled with this style, you will need to become a lot more flexible."

"I'm ready to learn, sensei," Uub says, brandishing his blunted rapier.

"Good, now follow my movements as best you can," Jesse says as he brandishes his own blunted rapier. He begins to go through a series of straightforward movements, moving through them slowly so as to show Uub how each was properly done. He would should him the way to coordinate the muscles properly to get the most out of the sword dance later.

Uub did indeed show incredible promise. His potential seemed to be infinite. Goku had told him that he had only needed to show Uub how to perform a kata a few times and he would get it. The boy apparently had perfect body memory, and his energy manipulation wasn't far behind. He had a long way to go before he was cunning in battle, but he learned quickly. Apparently the part of Kid Buu's soul that had made him a perfect fighting machine had carried over into Uub. Jesse idly wondered if the boy had what it took to become a full Warrior, like he himself was.

* * *

Jesse leans against the cavern wall, unobtrusive in a shadow as he watches Uub practice the latest sword dance. It was the most difficult one left for the rapier, Uub having completely mastered all of the others. If he managed this without nicking himself, then he would be moved into the next level of the Master's Wheel. Jesse already had it planned out, how Uub would go through each level of the Wheel.

The first level was the basic dances and katas. Once he was proficient in them, if not mastered them, he would be moved to the next level: physical training that went with the current blade and style, as well as some actual practice. Plus any special techniques that went with the style. Following that was the next level the advanced sword dances and katas. Following this was the final dances and katas and holding his own against his teacher. The final level was the making of a sword of his own that he would use to face his teacher in. Once he was able to make a sword to Jesse's satisfaction and hold his own for an unspecified amount of time against him then Uub would be considered a Master of whatever style he was learning. He would be allowed to keep each sword he made, and would have to make a new one for each style he learned, even if said style used the exact same blade. And he had to learn how to do all of this with both hands. Luckily for Uub, he was naturally ambidextrous.

Uub had progressed through Spanish swordplay, at least just the rapier alone, with remarkable speed, far faster than Jesse himself had. But it was here that he had developed his training program, and it was one that utilized the best of the student and enabled them to learn effectively. Next he would be introducing how to fight using the rapier with one hand and a dagger with the other. It was a quick, fierce style that Jesse himself loved almost as much as the katana. It was truly more like a dance than a fight, and Jesse deeply regretted the fact that he was the only living practitioner of the style. Of many of the styles he knew, in fact.

But he had made Uub promise to teach as many of the styles that he would learn as he could, even going so far as to open up a school for it. A school that Jesse felt obligated to help with once it was running. But first, Uub had to learn the styles to teach them. And he had a long way to go before he learned them all, much less Mastered them. But he could do it. Jesse wouldn't be bothering to train Uub unless he felt that the boy could truly surpass him. That was the principle of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style when it came to finding your apprentice: find someone who can truly surpass you. Of course, that was why it had taken Hiko-Shishou so long to find his previous apprentice. Jesse knew that the only reason Hiko-Shishou had taken him on was because he had been trained by Master Gemini. Well, he was determined to make Hiko-Shishou proud so that when they next met in Otherworld, which would not be until Jesse himself had passed on naturally, he would be able to look him in the eye (well, look _up_ to him in the eye as Hiko-Shishou was _huge_) and say that he had done his duty to the School.

As Uub goes through the basic ready stances again, Jesse smirks. He had talked to Piccolo and they had ended up talking to Shin to locate a planet suitable to properly train Uub's level of power, Piccolo style. In four months Uub would be collected by Piccolo and Jesse would take them to a planet with no other sentient life and full of savage, though edible, beasts. Piccolo would mask his ki signature so that Uub would not be able to detect it, and would be undergoing some ancient Namekian training that Jesse had helped Girin through. Or more specifically, recover from.

* * *

"The kid shows promise," Girin admits as the four former Supreme Kai disciples lounge about on the Grand Kai's planet, watching Uub train under Piccolo's tutelage on a deserted world.

"Plenty of promise, and a drive to succeed," Olibu agrees.

"Not to mention he shows promise to be an excellent battle tactician," Orzin muses, "see how he works to outsmart the Namekian. He's got a quick wit about him, and he absorbs fighting knowledge faster than even a Saiyan it seems. I'd say that by the time you're done training him, Jesse, the only way he'll be beaten is with overwhelming power or overwhelmingly superior experience. And he's good looking, for a human."

"His skill will continue to grow, that is true," Jesse says, "and his power is incredible for his age. I figure within ten years time, he'll have surpassed everyone on Earth BUT those with Saiyan blood. Pan already looks like she could be on the breakthrough to Super Saiyan 2. Within ten years, she could be caught up to her uncle and Trunks."

"Yeah, but those two are slacking off in peacetime," the Grand Kai adds, "they're keeping their skills sharp, but they aren't training to gain more strength, when the two should go hand-in-hand."

"Trunks doesn't have the drive to improve the way his future counterpart did," Jesse agrees, "Gohan didn't even have a drive to fight until he tried returning home during his training with Piccolo, and even then his desire to fight wasn't cemented until he faced Frieza."

"You know, Gohan and Piccolo were the only ones to ever face Frieza on a relatively even footing and not beat him or die themselves," Girin remarks, "though Piccolo had the advantage of Nail's memories from _his_ battle with Frieza and Gohan lost himself in the depths of the Rage."

"It's troubling that a mortal has access to so much of that primordial energy," Orzin murmurs.

"But fortunate," the Grand Kai interjects, "if Gohan could not access the Rage, then Majin Buu might have won ten years ago."

Jesse shudders. "Majin Buu… a direct link to the Rage. His power was exceptional, but without a genuine soul, he could not harness the limitless power he held. To harness the Rage, you must be able to feel emotion, and Majin Buu felt no emotion. He was hollow, empty. Probably flawed."

"How will this affect Uub?" Olibu asks.

"It shouldn't, not much anyway," the Grand Kai answers, "Majin Buu did develop a rudimentary soul after having absorbed Myrgo and the Dai Kaio. Not much, but enough of one for King Yemma to reincarnate. It's fortunate that it didn't have enough time to be tainted by the evil. Uub might get carried away against Demons though."

"Are you going to try and teach him to control that anger, or cultivate it?" Orzin asks mildly, her tone deceptive.

"Haven't decided yet," Jesse admits, "both ways have their advantages and disadvantages. Cultivating the anger will give him a stronger drive to perfect himself, but it could consume him. It will be relatively easy to cultivate, but he may develop tunnel vision when fighting Demons, or things he perceives as Demons. Controlling the anger will be far, far more difficult, but in the long run it might be the better choice. He would have better control over all of his emotions, and even be able to bring out the Warrior potential within him."

"And you're debating not giving him the chance to unlock that potential why?" Orzin demands.

"Because it took all of Kamin's patience to train me, and you know how patient he could be," Jesse replies, causing his fellow former Kai disciples to sweatdrop. Kamin had possessed zen-like patience when it came to training, much like the Namekian known as Kami that had Merged with Piccolo, or the Namekian Elder Guru.

"Jesse, you can do it," Orzin says firmly, "correction, you WILL train Uub to control his anger. You're right, he has incredible potential, the potential to become the greatest of his species to ever live!"

Jesse gulps. "H-hey! I'm the one training him. Well, me and Piccolo! And Goku. We're the ones who decide how Uub will be trained!"

Girin and Olibu smack their foreheads with their palms. They knew Jesse hadn't been around Orzin much since getting back, and before then hadn't seen her in six thousand years, but really! You'd think he'd remember a temper like that!

As they all expected, save Jesse, Orzin exploded. "Jesse, you WILL listen TO ME! Uub needs focus and control. He will not become your weapon to destroy Demons! You would be paying Kamin, and any others who taught you, a poor tribute if you gave Uub any training that was less than the best you could give, because that's what they gave you! Are you going to disgrace the training they gave you that way? Dishonor the years they spent honing your skills! Are you-"

Jesse had had enough. At the mention of the word 'dishonor', his eyes narrow dangerously. Olibu and Girin gulp. Jesse was normally very easy-going, but he was very touchy where honor was concerned. His temper had a high threshold, but bringing up his honor lowered it tremendously, and made it a thing to be feared.

"Silence," Jesse hisses, his voice cold and menacing. Orzin stops mid-tirade, frozen in shock and a little fear. "Don't you DARE bring up honor to me, Orzin! I WILL be giving Uub the best training I can give him, because that is what he deserves. He has the potential to become the best. Already his speed is unnaturally good, which will make him perfect for the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. His stamina is also incredible, so he can expect the hardest, most difficult training anyone in the Style has ever experienced. But don't think for a second that I would transform Uub into a weapon, a tool to kill Demons. I may forever bear a grudge against Demons, and slay any I ever meet, and Uub may very well end up following that path as well, but I will not push him to it. In fact, I will try and steer him clear of it!"

"I will teach him to cultivate his anger to focus on becoming better, and teach him to control it, to harness it, to give him even more strength, more drive, honing his ability to a molecular edge. By the time Piccolo and I are done with Uub, the only reason ANYONE will be able to defeat him is overwhelming power. His mind is naturally sharp, particularly in combat situations. He's already learned how to trick his mind into seeing everything as a battle of some sort. Though the different levels of danger of course vary. Piccolo will help him hone his unarmed combat abilities while I aid him in honing his weapons mastery. When we're done with him, Uub will be the single greatest Warrior to ever live, or indeed may ever live!"

Orzin takes a step back, startled at the vehemence in Jesse's voice. She had never faced Jesse's temper before, indeed none of his friends ever had, and now she knew why they had always avoided making him angry firsthand. He was terrifying!

Jesse stares at the speechless Orzin for a few moments before closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. Once he had regains control of himself, he opens his eyes and focuses on Orzin.

"I'm sorry for blowing up like that, Orzin, but you KNOW I will do what is right by Uub. He truly does have incredible potential and I'd be stupid AND dishonorable if I did not do my best to help him achieve it all."

Jesse looks each of his greatest friends in the eye, gauging their reactions. "You each know my past, what I must atone for. Uub will be the only student I ever have, and I must have a student to cleanse the disgrace I gave to the schools I am a part of. To cleanse the taint to their honor, I must carry on their legacy with a student, and atone with my own actions. I am well one my way towards my own atonement, and will finish it as a guard in Hell for several millennia. But with Uub, I can create a lasting legacy, as my own bloodline will not continue. I am the last of my father's bloodline, it never went past from him to me, and it shall not continue."

The five stand in silence for a few moments, before the Grand Kai breaks it. "Jesse, head back to Earth and try to spend some time with your great-niece. She only knows that a high school friend she thought was dead is still alive. You really should go and tell them your story. Pain shared is pain halved and all that."

Jesse glowers but nods. Focusing, he uses the Instant Transmission to join Piccolo and Uub before going off to visit Erasa and Sharpner.

"He's had it far too rough," Orzin comments.

'And he'll have it rougher,' the Grand Kai thinks, 'stay cool, Warrior, and don't lose your focus on what's truly important.'

* * *

Two years have passed since Uub began his alternating training under the Warrior Jesse and the Namekian Piccolo. In this time, his abilities have skyrocketed. He was still no match for the older demi-Saiyans or the Saiyans, or even Jesse or Piccolo themselves, but he was a cut above any of the other high-powered fighters on Earth with the notable exception of Pan. The young female demi-Saiyan was constantly sparring with her Grandfather Goku, who was anxiously awaiting his time to train with Uub. Jesse and Piccolo had told him that they would alternate training him for the first five years, and then they would allow Goku to start training him. Something about building strong foundations that Goku didn't really understand.

In truth, Jesse wanted to train Uub in all of the kenjutsu styles that he knew before seriously training Uub in unarmed combat. Unarmed combat stances were hard to translate when using kenjutsu, making it difficult to learn if set stances have been drilled into your head, but kenjutsu stances could translate into highly flexible unarmed combat stances, with the proper training applied for the transfer. By Jesse's estimation Uub still had three more years before he would be ready to start training with Goku.

"Uub, you have done well with your training so far," Jesse informs the young teen.

"Thank you, Jesse-shishou," Uub says. The two years of training have been good to Uub. Almost all of the remaining body fat on him has been burned off, and the specific training regimen Jesse had him placed on kept him lean, to keep him swift and agile. His reflexes were good, near-perfect already in fact, with only experience and his majority being able to improve them.

"But you still have a long way to go," Jesse continues, "now we will begin starting your REAL training. Everything up until now was just warm-ups."

Uub gulps. He had nearly DIED several times while training with Piccolo, and Jesse was just as bad a taskmaster, even if he hadn't put him in any life-threatening situations.

"Uub, whether you realize it or not, you have learned every sword art I know, even the one's that my final Master, Kamin, taught me, save for one," Jesse says seriously, "and that one is my principle style: Hiten Mitsurugi."

Uub's eyes widen. He had seen Jesse use a sakabattou(4) in sparring against Zarvon to test the limits of his style. The Hiten Mitsurugi Style was powerful, and fast. Infinitely fast. All ancient samurai kenjutsu was designed to kill the opponent in as few strikes as possible. Hiten Mitsurugi took that to the ultimate level, utilizing god-like speed to strike before the opponent could even draw their blade or mount any sort of defense. And it was the great equalizer that kept Jesse dangerous against foes who were by far his superior. His speed alone almost matched Goku using the Instant Transmission for combat.

"For the next three years Uub, you will only be training with me," Jesse says, "it is time for you to learn the last kenjutsu I can teach you. Once you master this, you will be one of the greatest swordsmen to ever live, surpassing even the Kai's who wield the noble blade. But I warn you, this training will make everything else you have been through seem like a mild warm-up. And there is the possibility that this training will kill you. A very real possibility, in fact."

Uub looks fearful for a moment before his face becomes resolute. "When do we start, Jesse-shishou?"

Jesse smiles. He didn't think he'd ever be as proud of anyone as he was of Uub at this moment. Yes, Uub would make a fine successor as the next Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style.

"Let's get started, kiddo. It took me eight years to Master the Hiten Mitsurugi Style under Hiko-shishou, not counting how long it took me to learn the final technique since Hiko-shishou passed away teaching me the Ku Zu Ryu Sen, and I hold the record, though only by a few days. I intend for you to break it. Let us begin."

* * *

Four years. For the past four years Uub's body had been beaten and lacerated. Jesse had not used bokkens or sakabattou's for their training, but real katana. His reasoning was that the Hiten Mitsurugi Style had always been taught using a katana and it was one tradition he, at least, would not discard. Using a real katana sharpened the reflexes, made you aware of the actual danger. Using a bokken or shinai forced you to learn later the dangers of fighting with real blades.

Parry. Thrust. Slash. The two swordsmen danced around one another, blades singing the sweet song of battle as they clashed. Slash. Parry. Strike. Slice. Blood dripped down out of the shallow cut that now danced across Jesse's cheek. Uub had gotten good. But Jesse had let him have that opening, a miniscule crack in his defenses, to see if Uub had the eyes to see it, had the reflexes to move on it, and the skill to hit it. He had. And he had even hesitated. He had known he was being set up. Jesse smiled. Uub was ready for the final technique.

Uub had mastered the Ku Zu Ryu Sen two months ago. He could even combine it with the Shukuchi, much to Jesse's pleasure. Uub was a skilled fighter now, one of the best Jesse had ever seen to wield a blade. In a decade or so, he would be untouchable, even by Jesse himself.

Jesse smirks as he disarms Uub with three swift flicks of his katana. The blade soars through the air. Uub is about to dash after it, but he feels the cold kiss of naked steel against his throat.

"I win."

Uub sighs and nods to acknowledge his defeat as he hears his katana clatter on the floor. He walks over and retrieves his blade, a sword he had made himself. Jesse had maintained that forging your own weapon gave you a connection to it, a sense of oneness that made the weapon an extension of yourself. One could be trained to achieve that with any weapon, particularly one that you have used for a while, but it truly did come easier when the weapon you use you forged from the beginning with your own two hands. It had taken Uub a while to become skilled in making his weapons, but now he had a personally made collection. A rapier, a saber, an English broadsword, an Ivanhoe sword, a claymore, a tachi, a pair of kodachi, various daggers and dirks, his own sakabattou, and finally his katana.

"You're ready." Uub stops. What did me mean?

"Jesse-shishou?"

"Uub, you are ready to attempt the final technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style: the Ouki Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki: the Heaven's Soaring Dragon Flash. This is the ultimate succession technique, the one technique that surpasses the Ku Zu Ryu Sen instead of merely equaling it, which few other techniques do."

Uub grins widely. If Jesse-shishou felt that he was ready to learn the final technique, then he had all but mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. And had done it in nearly half the time that Jesse-shishou had!

"Yes Jesse-shishou!" Uub exclaims enthusiastically.

"But, this is the most difficult technique to learn," Jesse states, "because you must figure out what it is by yourself."

Uub's eyes widen in astonishment. Figure it out himself? How was he supposed to do that? He looks at Jesse as he continues his explanation.

"The Ouki Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki is the ultimate defensive technique." _Defensive? It wasn't an attack?_ "It is the only defense possible against the Ku Zu Ryu Sen, and is an invincible defense against any other technique within kenjutsu. Uub, come to me when you feel that you have figured it out. But I warn you, if you fail to produce the Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki, you will die. If you cannot perform it, you will not survive me using the Ku Zu Ryu Sen with the Shukuchi. Likewise, you must have a solid desire to continue living, or you will not have the strength required to do what will have to be done."

Jesse walks away to leave Uub to his thoughts. He had much to think about.

'You can do it, kid,' Jesse thinks, 'your future is a bright star, an eternal light. Do not force me to put it out. Because if you fail, your life will be ended. You will not be brought back with the Dragon Balls, for their magic just may disrupt your soul. But you will be allowed to go to the Grand Kai's planet should you choose to go.'

* * *

Over two weeks pass as Jesse waits for Uub to come to him. He knew that when Uub came to test himself for the final technique, that he would be ready. He and Piccolo both had trained in Uub a desire to achieve technical perfection, to know one's techniques perfectly, to know their limits and how to shatter them.

Uub, however, was slowly and methodically reviewing the Ku Zu Ryu Sen, using the Split Form to create a copy and watch it perform the technique, and using the Tri Form technique to test ideas. He had come to the conclusion that he would need to stop the Ku Zu Ryu Sen before it connected, as it was thoroughly unblockable in its entirety and a single blow from it could end his life. He had already decided that the Battou Jutsu would form the foundation of the technique, but he could not figure out how to achieve the speed needed to stop an ordinary Ku Zu Ryu Sen, much less one that was enhanced by the Shukuchi.

'Why can't I reach full speed?' Uub thinks to himself, 'I can feel that I am not achieving the maximum potential of the Battou Jutsu, but what is holding me back.'

Performing the Split Form again, he watches as his copy goes through the Battou Jutsu, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses.

'Wait, if I did _that_, it would greatly increase the speed and power, but its just too risky. There's a reason why the Battou Jutsu stance uses your dominant hand leg in front rather than the other. But, if one were to twist just right…. I think I'll go see Jesse-shishou now. I'm ready.'

"So, you believe yourself to be ready, my pupil?" Jesse asks.

"Yes, Jesse-shishou," Uub replies, "I believe I am ready."

"Then prepare yourself," Jesse says as he walks several yards away from Uub. Even he needed a bit of distance to properly enter the Ku Zu Ryu Sen. When he reaches what he feels will be the perfect distance to ascertain Uub's ability to defend himself and execute the Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki. Uub, meanwhile, shifts his weight into the classic Battou Jutsu stance.

'So far so good,' Jesse muses as he drops into his own stance, 'he realizes that the Battou Jutsu is the base, but has he discovered the secret to the Heaven's Soaring Dragon Flash?'

"Defend yourself!" Jesse calls out as he vanishes into the god-like speed of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. To the eyes of most, even the Saiyans and Piccolo, they would have to be at their maximum power to witness this speed, if they could even see it at all. Uub, however, was trained to see fast-moving objects. To Uub, Jesse was moving at normal super speed, if super speed could be defined as 'normal' at all.

In less than half a second, Uub takes a step forward with his left foot, drawing his katana in the process. He could see Jesse's attack, see each stroke of the Ku Zu Ryu Sen as it was happening. Only another Ku Zu Ryu Sen could block it, but the Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki was the only technique capable of intercepting it truly. Uub's minds worked at unprecedented speeds as he saw what would inevitably be death coming straight for him if this did not work. Time seemed to slow for Uub as he visualized the barrier between life and death.

'Is this it? Is this the limit of my ability? I was foolish to think that I could match Jesse-shishou already. He has six thousand years of experience, and knows the Hiten Mitsurugi Style better than anyone alive in two timelines! How can I, with not even a decade in this style under my belt, hope to beat him when he's using the ultimate attack of the school!"

Jesse grimaces momentarily as he sees the indecision on Uub's face. 'Dammit Uub, don't doubt yourself! You're on the right track, just move forward! Choose life and live!'

'No, Jesse-shishou believes in me, believes in my abilities. He's trained me and has said that I can become even better than he is.'

Time began to inch forward as Uub teetered on the edge of choosing life or death. With steel resolve, he pushes for life, his sword whipping out and slicing through Jesse, apparently cleaving him in half as Uub executes the Heaven's Soaring Dragon Flash perfectly, twisting his body just so that his katana does not sever his own leg as it makes its way towards, then into, and finally through Jesse.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki!"

- -

Sorry for the cliffhanger. This will be the first chapter in a mini-series, or perhaps just a two-part story. Hope you enjoy this.

1. Teacher or Master. At least, that's what Kenshin Himura refers to Hiko in the anime and manga of Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X as, or as far as I know at least.

2. Taken from the movie "The Mask of Zorro". I always laugh at that part!

3. Paraphrased from "The Mask of Zorro".

4. A reverse bladed sword, specifically a katana where the blade is on the side it normally isn't on. The principle weapon of Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X.


	2. Mastery

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. That is the property of Funi and Akira Toriyama. Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X is the property of Viz. Jesse, Zarvon, Girin, and Orzin are about the only things you'll see here that I do own.

- -

"Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki!" Jesse smiles faintly as he just barely sees Uub's katana flying at him in the ultimate technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. He flickers away, using the Instant Transmission and the after image techniques to appear that he had been sliced apart. Truly, the Instant Transmission was the ONLY possible escape, but it required reflexes no one living, save for Jesse, would ever be able to possess, and it had taken Jesse six thousand years to train his reflexes to such a level.

Uub carries on through with the attack, the vacuum created by his sword as it goes through its maneuver being felt throughout the cavern, even from the distance Jesse reappears at over two hundred feet away. He has to brace himself to keep from being sucked towards Uub by the vacuum, but it wasn't too difficult. Uub was able to generate an incredible amount of force.

"J… Jesse-shishou?" Uub gasps when he finishes the follow-through, ":i-I failed, didn't I, Jesse-shishou?

Jesse grins. "Uub, I am extremely proud of you."

"You mean, I succeeded Jesse-shishou?" Uub gapes, "but I didn't get you!"

"I used the Instant Transmission to escape, though you almost had me," Jesse admits as he raises his right arm after sheathing his blade, to reveal a cut in the cloth of his shirt. Uub looks at Jesse in astonishment.

"You mean you had it planned?"

"To be honest, I wasn't sure if I could escape from the Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki in time with the Instant Transmission," Jesse replies evenly, "it's hard to teleport only a short distance away with it. The technique was developed to travel to people, or far off places. It's very difficult to fix on your arrival location in a split second when there isn't anyone there."

Jesse grins. "If the Instant Transmission hadn't worked, I still had a ki barrier capable of blocking your sword in place."

"But I haven't learned how to erect ki barriers that quickly yet," Uub protests, "what if my Heaven's Soaring Dragon Flash hadn't worked?"

"Then you would have died," Jesse says seriously, "you have excelled, far beyond any other student of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. Your speed is exceptional and will grow as you grow stronger, far exceeding that of anyone else who is your equal in power alone, and several who are stronger even. Now, stand at attention!"

Uub snaps into position, standing straight and tall, his katana tied to his left side, and even with his rigid body posture, to Jesse's trained eye he could tell that Uub could still draw his sword in an instant.

"Uub, tell me what you have learned these last six years, both from me and Piccolo, as well as your small bits of training with Goku," Jesse says, "even if it's something small, if you learned it from us then I want you to tell us."

As Uub recounts the training sessions that he and Piccolo had put him through, Jesse focuses his psionic abilities on Uub's mind to see how the training had affected it. Uub's mind was sharp, moving at a speed that made Jesse admittedly jealous. The kid was just shy of being a genius, and in battle he was a super-genius. As Uub finishes the litany of the abilities he had learned, a few of which surprised Jesse, as Uub had learned some of Piccolo's best techniques just being observing or being hit by them. The boy truly was a marvel.

"Now, tell me what you have learned about kenjutsu, specifically of the katana," Jesse says.

"We use swords to protect those who cannot protect themselves, lend our strength to those whose strength is insufficient or who have none, to use our sword as an extension of ourselves to," Uub begins, but Jesse cuts him off before he can continue further.

"Wrong!" Jesse snaps harshly, "I am sorry Uub, but that is not the true nature of kenjutsu."

"But, that is what you have taught me!" Uub protests.

"I have only taught you how to _wield_ a sword, not the way it should be used," Jesse answers, "I only taught you the mechanics. Now that you have Mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi Style I shall teach you the philosophy that embodies the Hiten Mitusurgi Style."

Uub's eyes widen and his ears twitch ever so slightly. This, he felt, would be the final real lesson he received from Jesse-shishou. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but his gut told him this to be true.

"A sword is a weapon, young Uub," Jesse tells the teenager, "kenjutsu is the art of killing. Whatever pretty words we or others may use to speak of it, this is its true nature. What you said are the words whose hands have never been dirtied and soiled by blood, your soul tainted by cold-blooded murder. However, wouldn't you say that we should strive to make those pretty, idealistic words accepted as true reality and not fantasy?"(1)

"Yes, Jesse-shishou!" Uub exclaims.

"Now, let us see the full extent of your abilities, shall we?" Jesse asks, "this will be your final lesson, and should you pass it I shall train you in one final technique."

"Really, Jesse-shishou?" Uub asks. When Jesse nods, Uub drops into a ready stance, but Jesse shakes his head.

"No, Uub, not today. Train for five hours, then rest for the rest of today. Tomorrow I will take you to where you are to be tested. Trust me kid, this will be a real treat for you."

"So, you finally came to visit, baka deshi(2)." The person speaking was tall, nearly seven and a half feet tall, and every inch the imposing figure. The katana strapped to his side and his bearing indicated that he was a kenjutsu expert. The bottle of sake(3) in his right hand indicated that he liked to drink and get drunk.

"Yes, Shishou," Jesse says, "and I'm sure you know why."

* * *

The huge figure take a swig from the bottle of sake. "Sure I know why you're here. We do get to watch those in living world we wish to watch, as long as we aren't watching anything perverted. Want some sake?"

"No thank you," Jesse waves off, "you know I can't hold my liquor and I'm far too powerful to risk letting loose my control like that."

The huge figure snorts. "Bring the brat here tomorrow. I will judge his worthiness. I will also get in touch with the pervert since you taught the kid his style as well."

"Thank you, Shishou," Jesse says, then uses the Instant Transmission to leave.

The tall figure takes another swig of the sake. "Leave it to that brat to take six thousand years to FINALLY get an apprentice."

* * *

"Good morning, Uub," Jesse says cheerily after he finishes his orange. He normally ate a larger breakfast, usually consisting of some sausage, biscuits, milk or orange juice, and a few slices of toast, polished off with a piece or fruit, namely either an apple or an orange, though occasionally a slice of watermelon. Today, however, was different. Just an orange.

"Good morning, Jesse-shishou," Uub replies as he rummages through the freezer for the sausage patties.

"Eat healthier today, kid, you'll need the energy and none of the fats slowing you down," Jesse advises, "the fats and grease will burn away your energy extremely fast and you'll lose."

"Yes, Jesse-shishou," Uub replies as he replaces the sausage and grabs a couple of bananas, an orange, and toasts some bread with his ki.

"Eat some granola too, kid," Jesse advises, "then meditate, you'll need to focus yourself for today."

"Yes Jesse-shishou," Uub says as he follows Jesse's instructions. A few hours later, Uub heads to the room set aside to hold his self-made weapons. He goes over his collection of katana and his eyes fall on one particular katana. When Jesse-shishou had taught him the kenjutsu style of the ancient Japanese force known as the Shinsengumi, he had made this particular katana. The curve of the blade was slightly less than normal katana, and the edge was a coal black for some reason. Uub had forged this sword in his own free time, not for training purposes. It had taken him years to finish it, slowly purifying the metal to perfection with flames and ki. He had used it occasionally in practice, but it had never met another blade. Uub could feel the solid strength in the blade, however, and knew that today it would at last be used. Picking up the sword and placing it in its custom scabbard, Uub heads to the training cavern.

Upon arrival, Jesse merely arches an eyebrow at seeing Uub's blade, then his face goes passive. "Welcome, Uub. Do you feel that you are ready?"

"Yes, Jesse-shishou," Uub replies respectfully.

"What do you expect to happen today, Uub?" Jesse asks carefully. He attempted to make every little thing a test if he could, even if it was only to test his student's intuition. Honing his intuition and learning when to trust it and when not to would be a valuable skill one day.

"I expect I shall learn what my limits are, and see if I can surpass them," Uub replies, then smirks faintly, "I am hoping, however, to find your limits, Jesse-shishou."

Jesse studies Uub for a moment, then smiles. "Good. You will find your limitations today, and you may just find mine as well. Anything's possible."

Jesse studies Uub for a few more minutes. To his credit, Uub does not flinch under the critical gaze of his teacher, nor does he fidget at all. He had been trained to endure many different conditions, to fight in many kinds of environments, and to survive on most any type of planet. Mentally, it is another story.

'Why does he always do this? Doesn't he know how much this unnerves me? It's creepy. It's like he's checking me out or something.'

"You know, Uub, you really should think quieter," Jesse remarks, "because I can hear you."

Uub freezes. He had forgotten that Jesse-shishou was a telepath! And he hadn't been focusing on keeping his thoughts private, either! Jesse-shishou had explained that he naturally broadcasted his thoughts, and anyone with the ability to do so could 'hear' him if they weren't actively trying not to. This meant that in their duels, Uub had to be doubly focused to keep Jesse-shishou from knowing his next move. He had been assured that it would benefit him greatly against other opponents, and prepare him in case he ever met a hostile swordsman with such abilities.

A dull flush appears over Uub's cheeks as he nods. Jesse just laughs and claps the teen on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's not that big a deal outside a duel. Less than a tenth of a percent of the people in the entire universe have even close to the capabilities I have psychically, and you're skilled enough to keep them out. You just have to try harder than most to do it, is all. In battle, your mind is closed tight, all but impenetrable. Even the Dai Kaio would be hard-pressed to penetrate your mental barriers while battling you. Watching you battle, he could penetrate them easily, but not while fighting you himself."

Uub nods his understanding.

"So, you ready to go?" Jesse asks. At Uub's nod, he summons the sword the North Supreme Kai, Kamin, had given him six millennia ago, the Silver Sword. Ideally, it could become any form of weapon at all, perfectly suiting its wielder for whatever style they chose to use at any given time, being perfectly balanced for them and of the perfect size as well. Jesse had been studying it for a long time and was almost sure he had gleaned its creation from it. Once he could manage that, he would instruct Uub in making his own, and instruct him to teach the technique ONLY to his full disciple, the one whom he would teach all his knowledge to. He straps the sword to his side, the mighty weapon currently in the form of a katana.

"Yes, Jesse-shishou. I am ready to face the challenge." Uub's response was exactly what Jesse had been hoping for. He lays a hand on Uub's shoulder and places the index and middle fingers of his other hand to his forehead, focusing. An instant later the two swordsmen flicker and then vanish.

-elsewhere-

"So, when will that idiot bring his apprentice here?"

The speaker was a man with long, spiky white hair, wearing loose-fitting clothes that allowed for total freedom of movement that consisted of blue gi pants and a dark green long-sleeved tunic shirt, a white gi-like vest over it. Across his back a large broadsword was strapped.

"Bah, he didn't bother to tell me," the other man present snorts. He is the same person Jesse was speaking to the day before. Long dark hair flows over his shoulders as he takes a swig from his bottle of sake. The tip of his katana sheathe is in the ground, the hilt resting against his shoulder as he sits and relaxes. His face is slightly flushed from the alcohol, but he doesn't seem impaired in any way.

"He never tells anyone everything, does he?" the other man chuckles.

"He's even more troublesome than my previous baka deshi," the large man grunts, "but at least he is able to fully utilize the style, unlike his predecessor. His body isn't being destroyed by the great power he commands in the style."

"It's the ki training, you old drunk," the white-haired man retorts, "it makes his body FAR more durable than your other apprentice's was."

The larger man sighs. "And he truly did have such incredible potential. Even after all this time, I still haven't told him how proud I am of him."

The older man blinks in surprise. "You still haven't told him? He got out of Hell from guard duty last millennium. You should go visit him."

The larger man's response is cut off by the arrival of Jesse and Uub.

"Good morning," Jesse says formally, bowing to the two men, "how have your mornings been, Hiko-shishou, Gemini-sensei?"

The large man rises to his feet with a boneless grace that surprises Uub. The man was HUGE, even bigger than Zarvon, and yet he moved with the same seamless grace that Jesse possessed. Did he possess it as well? What was it Jesse had called him?

"Not bad, kid," the large man grunts, "the sake tasted fine, even if it was lukewarm and not cold or piping hot as good sake should be."

"Eh, it wasn't too bad," the white-haired man answers, "no women around here since tall, dark, and dull here is a hermit."

Jesse just sighs. He didn't expect either of them to change, but still… six thousand years and no differences? It was sad, really. That or the dead just stopped at where they had been in life upon death.

"Hiko-shishou, Gemini-sensei, I would like you to meet Uub, my apprentice," Jesse says.

"H-hiko-shishou?" Uub gasps. This giant of a man was the one who had taught Jesse-shishou the Hiten Mitsurugi Style?

"Yes, Uub, this is the man who taught me, Seijuro Hiko the Thirteenth, thirteenth Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi style, and the last true Master," Jesse says by way of introduction, "he is the man who taught me my preferred style. The old lech there is Gemini Storm, my second teacher and one of the three I spent the most time with. Hiko-shishou is one of the other two. Sadly, my final Master, Kamin, was annihilated by the evil Majin Buu long ago."

"The last Master?" Uub looks startled, "but I thought Jesse-shishou was the last Master?"

"I taught two students, both of whom are technically Masters, but to be a true Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style one must discard their own name and take up the name of Seijuro Hiko," Hiko answers for the teenage swordsman, "however, should you prove to be capable you may take the name for yourself."

Uub is stunned. Be the acknowledged Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style? Him? He turns an incredulous gaze to Jesse, who is smirking.

"Yes, Uub, you can be the acknowledged Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style," Jesse says, "your sword is not tainted with blood, unlike mine and Hiko-shishou's other apprentice, Kenshin Himura."

"But, you've only killed Demons, Jesse-shishou!" Uub protests.

"No, Uub," Jesse sighs as he unties the Silver Sword and lays it on a nearby rock. He holds out his hand to Hiko. The larger man nods in understanding and hands his former student his katana. As Jesse ties the katana in place, he explains.

"Six thousand years ago there were two swordsmen feared above all others. One was the Hitokiri Battousai, Hiko-shishou's first apprentice, Kenshin Himura. He later repented for the lives he took. The other was the Blade of Death, an assassin for hire who had taken the lives of thousands with his blade. The young, the old. The defenseless and helpless and those who could fight back. He cut a swathe of death across the Earth, and on other planets as well, never once finding a match until one day he faced a mountain of a man, a hand-to-hand combatant who at that time had unequaled skill. At least, on Earth he did."

"The two fought, and the Blade of Death was defeated by the overwhelming power of his opponent, but he was not killed. Afterwards, the two traveled together and the Blade of Death changed, once again becoming who he had been not two years earlier."

"He killed all those people in just two years?" Uub gasps, "that's monstrous!"

Jesse laughs mirthlessly.

"Vegeta killed billions in his twenty years as Frieza's subordinate, as did many others under Frieza's control. Frieza himself had killed billions, if not trillions over the years. The same can be said for his father and brother. The evil Majin Buu killed trillions upon trillions. But for a single person to kill that many personally, to watch the soul slip from their eyes and their lifeblood to spill out over their blade and their hands, yes, such a person truly would be a monster."

Hiko and Gemini exchange a worried glance. They hadn't realized entirely how Jesse felt about his time as the Blade of Death. He had never mentioned it to them in his rare visits, so they hadn't thought to pursue it. Hiko had known that Kenshin had been agonized by his past as the Hitokiri Battousai, but Jesse had become a full Super Warrior, a feat not seen in eons! And only one true of heart and morals could become one. They knew that that fact alone would probably greatly reduce his time as a guard in Hell or even eliminate it altogether when he died and attempted to go to the Grand Kai's planet.

"After the Blade of Death met this great man, he gave up his killing ways and trained to protect, to wash the blood from his hands. In the end, he became part of an elite group of fighters collected from all four Quadrants."

Jesse turns his grim eyes onto Uub. "They were the disciples of the four Supreme Kai's."

Uub takes a step back, eyes wide. Jesse-shishou couldn't mean…no, it was impossible!

Hiko sighs. "It's true kid. Jesse here was once the Blade of Death. He forsook killing and since then, has only taken two lives, both powerful evils in another timeline who deserved it."

"This test, Uub, will be to see if you truly have the killing intent you will need should you ever face a Demon," Jesse says, "Demons will show no mercy, and for this upcoming fight neither will I. And it will be a fight, Uub, not a sparring session. You will be defending your very life, Uub. I will be coming at you with intent to kill, and you had better find it within yourself to fight back with intent to kill."

Uub stands there, frozen in shock. Jesse sighs.

"We will need a healer before this is over. You do have a choice as to whether you will fight me or not. Fight me and win, and I will teach you how to create portals and perform the Instant Transmission. Do not fight me, and your training will be ended. I will return."

Opening a portal, the six thousand year old swordsman steps through and vanishes as it closes.

"He..he…Jesse-shishou was…" Uub manages to choke out.

"A murderer," Hiko says bluntly. Uub whirls to face the much larger man. Hiko continues. "Jesse coldly and callously took human lives for two years, killing thousands of people. Many powerful fighters fell before him, some defending those he had been paid to kill, others who merely provided him with a challenge. Hajime Saitou, a swordsman equal to my other apprentice and thus just below my level, fell before him during that time, though his life was spared."

"Another, Soujiro Seta, also known as the 'Sword of Heaven', and master of the Shukuchi and the inventor of the Shun Ten Satsu, fell before him though he too was spared," Gemini adds, "so did a man by the name of Aoshi Shinamori. All three of those men were at one time or another opponents of Hiko's other apprentice, Kenshin Himura. He defeated them as well, and more easily than Jesse did. You might find this hard to believe, but on pure skill Jesse is perhaps the weakest person to ever utilize the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. The only reason he is as good as he is, and he freely admits it when asked, is due to his six thousand years in Limbo."

"And he has nearly perfected his skill," Hiko finishes, "for him to consider you to be able to defeat him with six years experience under your belt, most of that training, then you have a natural gift. Jesse had a natural gift for learning the basics of any technique I showed him, which enabled him to be ready to fully master the Hiten Mitsurugi Style in just a few years, faster than even I or Kenshin, though it took him his years in Limbo to perfect them to the level Kenshin did within his six years of training."

"I did learn the Hiten Mitsurugi Style in less time than Jesse-shishou," Uub admits, "it only took me four years, a few months less than he himself learned it."

"And he has fully mastered everything I have taught him," Jesse says as he returns with the East Supreme Kai Shin, his retainer Kibito, the Old Kai, and his former teammates Olibu, Girin, and Orzin. "Uub has, in my opinion, the potential to become the greatest swordsman who will ever live. He can contend with six thousand years of experience and training with less than a decade of training."

"But you've been going easy on me!" Uub protests. He couldn't really be that good, could he?

"I held nothing back, Uub," Jesse replies seriously, "I never have while training you. The closest I have ever come to going easy on someone was when I first faced Dabura after getting out of Limbo. I used a broadsword to honor Kamin, but that is the style I am weakest with. But even if I was using a style I was weak with, I did not go easy on him at all."

Jesse smirks. "Of course, the only reason you will be able to become the greatest swordsman who will ever live is because I was your teacher in swordsmanship."

'Damn he can be arrogant,' Shin, Kibito, the Old Kai, Gemini, and Uub think in unison.

'The brat's gotten full of himself,' Hiko thinks, 'guess I'll have to show him that I am still his better after he performs the final test on his student.'

"So, now that we have our spectators, shall we begin, Uub?" Jesse asks his student. Uub nods and adjusts his sword as Jesse fastens Hiko's sword to his side.

Jesse crouches into the basic Battou jutsu stance, his eyes hardening and becoming as lifeless as stone. Uub manages to resist the urge to shiver at the coldness he could sense forming in his teacher's ki. It was terrible. Jesse normally felt strong, calm, and good, almost as pure as Goku but tainted just slightly. But now, he felt dark, almost evil. He could feel the thirst for blood and killing raging at the core of Jesse's ki now.

The other's present bite back gasps of shock as they too detect the changes in Jesse's aura. Shin shivers the most, likening the feel to that of the Evil Buu's. Hiko thought it felt almost like Kenshin's had when he let the Hitokiri Battousai part of his personality out, only much higher in strength, and even darker.

Uub drops into the Battou jutsu stance as well, though he kept his legs slightly closer together, to leap should it be needed. Uub preferred the airborne techniques like the Ryu Tsui Sen, the Ryu Tsui Sen Zan, and the Ryu Kan Sen Arashi. They left him open, but since Uub could fly he didn't have that problem like many other swordsmen. Still, a skilled swordsmen could attack before Uub had a chance to react.

Jesse smirks coldly. "You, boy, will regret placing yourself against me. For that, your life is forfeit!"

Jesse's form blurs. Almost instantly the clang of metal on metal can be heard as Uub draws his sword and blocks Jesse's with it. The two stand there, their swords scraping against one another before Uub ducks back, then lunges forward in an attempt to perform the Gatotsu Ichiki. Jesse snaps forward with a kick, catching Uub by surprise but the teen swordsman recovers near-instantly, jumping back to avoid the kick.

Gemini smirks. "Looks like they'll be using some fists and feet in this too."

Hiko nods in agreement as he watches the two exchange strikes again, their swords sending out sparks as they collide. "A true swordsman, indeed a true martial artist, never limits his fighting knowledge to one discipline if he can help it. They are both proud members of the Hiten Mitsurugi School."

Uub drops back, then lunges forward, thrusting his blade. "Gatotsu Ichiki!"

Jesse parries the attack, though the _chūkissaki_(4) of the blade bites into his chest ever so slightly, drawing a thin line of blood and neatly slicing through Jesse's shirt. The former assassin kicks at Uub, connecting with the teen's right forearm, hitting a small nerve cluster and vein path, as well as bruising the muscle surrounding them. Uub hisses in pain, but doesn't drop his blade, deftly switching control of it to his left hand. It hadn't taken Jesse long to learn that Uub was ambidextrous, though he tended to use his right hand for most things like the majority of humans. The knowledge of this had brought at first a pout from the six thousand year old Warrior, who had needed to learn the ability, and then a smirk of triumph as he then explained just how useful such an ability was.

"Hurts, doesn't it, gaki (5)?" Jesse sneers as he darts in for a quick series of cuts. Uub manages to block each cut, but his arm mobility is obviously impaired through the light damage Jesse has done to his arm. Feeling was rapidly returning to his arm, but he couldn't spare even a second to switch back, not that he needed to. Apparently, Jesse was not used to fighting ambidestrous or left-handed opponent's, and it took him a split second longer to react to Uub's attacks.

"And there it is," Hiko smirks.

"There what is?" Shin asks.

"Uub's discovered Jesse's main weakness: he doesn't react well to surprises," Hiko explains, "he's never fought a left-handed swordsman before. Even while training Uub, he never trained against the boy while he was practicing his left-handed stances. Therefore, he's having to think through his reactions, not react instictively. That is perhaps Jesse's greatest strength, having honed his skill to the point every maneuver is instinctual. But present him with a style that moves around his, which is vritually impossible since he has learned so many, or with simply an unfamiliar way of fighting, and he is forced to think on his feet. Granted, he is good at it, but he's an instinctive fighter, not an intellectual one."

"That is for certain," Olibu chuckles, "when he and I first fought, he could not understand how my minute ki blasts were able to block his sword. As far as I know, he still hasn't found a way around them."

"Um, what will we do if Jesse happens to win this fight?" Girin asks worriedly, "I mean, after all, he is perhaps the most powerful swordsman to ever live right now, and none of us could possibly beat him should he turn on us as his powerful level is much higher than any of ours."

Hiko snorts. "Do not worry. My baka deshi would not jeopardize your lives in such a way. He knows a few spells, many of them to do with the mind. I believe he cast one to lock away the parts of himself that changed him from the Blade of Death to the Jesse you know. Once this battle is over, he will change back. Just you wait and see."

Nevertheless, he gripped the Silver Sword Jesse had handed him tighter, as if prepping himself to fight. If Jesse did not indeed return to normal at the end of the fight, and he won, then it would be up to him to stop his former pupil. If he could. In a pure test of skill, Hiko was sure that he could still defeat his former pupil. But with the incredible power Jesse has acquired since training under him, Hiko knew that he would only have one attack, maybe two before Jesse would overwhelm him with sheer power.

Uub's blade darts out, flicking aside Jesse's and then moving in straight for Jesse's right lung. Jesse brings up the hilt, catching Uub's blade with it and diverting the thrust to grazing his shoulder. Jesse snarls, lashing out with a foot, catching the teen swordsman in the gut, knocking him back several feet. Neat-instantly, Jesse is upon his opponent, bearing down on him.

"Ryu Tsui Sen Zan!" Uub rapidly rolls out of the way, though Jesse's blade still nicks his ear. Beneath them, the ground gives way to form a crater due to the sheer force of the impact. Uub flips himself to his feet, lashing out with a kick of his own, but Jesse knocks it aside. With his sword.

Limping back from the long gash in his left leg, Uub tries desperately to think of a way to defeat his teacher. Jesse knew every move he knew, and knew how to counter them. He hadn't had a chance to form a unique style of his own, or to form his own style within one of the styles he knew.

Wait. That was the answer! The answer wasn't to use just one style, but several at once! Uub knew his sword was made with multiple styles in mind, specifically kenjutsu and battou jutsu styles. He had read up on iaijutsu (6), and the theory and technique behind the general technique suited his new blade, which maximized draw speed (making it perfect for the Hiten Mitsurugi Style's Ougi (7) as he now knew) and the curvature of the blade maximized its power for the ancient style of the Shinsengumi, the Gatotsu.

Uub darts back and rapidly sheathes his blade, performing the Ryu Mei Sen, the Dragon Crying Flash. The rapid sheathing of Uub's katana reverberates through the sheathe, eliciting a harsh shrieking sound that is focused directly at Jesse, who winces in pain and stops him his tracks as the sound moves through him.

Uub alters his stance, standing in a variation of the Battou jutsu stance after rapidly switching his sheathe to his right side so he could fully fight left handed. He had to play this very carefully. With his injury, he was in a very precarious position. What made the Hiten Mitsurugi Style so devastating was its speed. Height also played an important factor, but it was speed that made anyone wielding the Style deadly. And with his injured leg, his speed was greatly reduced.

"You know you won't catch me in the Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki," Jesse taunts, "there is nothing you know that I do not. Face it, kid, you're in over your head, and soon your head shall be rolling around on the ground."

"Then come and get me," Uub replies, bending his knees as he sinks into a lower stance.

'Sanshiki,' Jesse muses silently, 'or perhaps Ichiki. Maybe even Zeroshiki. No matter. While the boy is skilled with Zeroshiki, he is not fast enough with it to hit me, nor can he even hope to perform it with his blade sheathed. And he is in the wrong stance to attempt a left-handed Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki. Is he trying to create a new technique, or meld techniques? I haven't taught him the principles of that yet, but I should still be careful. His mind is uncannily sharp in battle.'

As Jesse circles Uub, ready to attack a hole in the younger human's defense, Uub is careful to keep his thoughts guarded. If even a speck of his plan was picked up by Jesse, the experienced swordsman could possibly unravel the entire maneuver.

As their onlookers watch, the two swordsmen slowly circle one another, waiting for the other to make a move. Without warning, Jesse lunges forward, seeing a hole in Uub's defense. In less than the blink of an eye, Uub reacts. Near-instantly, his sword is out of it's sheathe and in his left hand, and he performs three quick slices with it: one to knock Jesse's oncoming sword to the left, then to knock it to the right, resulting in it being out of position to deflect the third slice, which dances across Jesse's chest. Then, with a final motion, Uub performs the Ryu Mei Sen once again, sheathing his sword.

The sudden barrage of metal followed by the horrendous sound is enough to stun Jesse momentarily. 'He… he's using iaijutsu! How! I didn't teach him any beyond the basic principle! Is he learning this on the fly? If he is, then he may have just discovered his own true power, combining iaijutsu techniques with the Ryu Mei Sen will make him a truly devastating opponent. I must end this with my next attack. Even as skilled as he has become, he will not be able to stop my Ku Zu Ryu Sen from that stance. Especially if combined with the Shukuchi.

In less than the blink of an eye, Jesse dashes forward with the god-surpassing speed of the Shukuchi. Angling his sword, Jesse moves in for the ultimate attack technique in all of swordsmanship.

"Ku Zu Ryu Sen!"

'This is it,' Hiko thinks to himself, Gemini and the Old Kai mirroring his thoughts, 'it's time to see if you can create an entirely new technique, Uub. One capable of stopping the Ku Zu Ryu Sen.'

"Saru no Saishu Boei!" (8)

Everything seems to stop. Uub had just performed a most unorthodox method of stopping his opponent. He had stepped forward as if performing the Hiten Mitsurugi style's Ougi, but he had moved in low, to make it a rising strike. He had formed a firm grip on not only the hilt of his sword, but the sheathe as well. Using a flash of ki from his fingers, he severed the cloth band that attached the sheathe to his sash. Unhindered by any restraints, Uub had succeeded in breaking the Ku Zu Ryu Sen, though he still took the slice to the right shoulder and right belly, though the latter wound was mostly superficial as it had been the wound he had stopped Jesse in the process of inflicting. In the end, Uub's attack had sent Jesse flying, the sword that was in the process of being buried in Uub's right side being flung far away.

A pained, whimpering groan escapes from Jesse's lips as he rolls on the ground.

"Did he just…" Girin begins.

"He did…" Orzin giggles.

"That's just not right…" Olibu winces in sympathy for his friend.

"A most… unorthodox method of attaining victory…" Kibito gulps as he looks pityingly on Jesse. Hiko, Shin, and Gemini grimace in sympathetic pain like Olibu.

The Old Kai cackles. "Well, that's an interesting way to beat you opponent: a sharp strike to the balls!"

Jesse just groans in pain as his ki aura returns to its previous feeling. Gone was the cold emptiness. His aura now felt welcoming, friendly, but with a hint of firmness that indicted strength ready to flow throughout the rest.

"The… pain…" Jesse wheezes.

"Isn't anyone going to help him?" Uub asks, relaxing after he feels his teacher's aura return to normal.

"I dunno," Orzin giggles, "it's kinda funny seeing him squirm like that."

"Evil….woman…" Jesse manages.

"You are a cruel, cruel woman, Orzin," Olibu says to his longtime friend.

"And don't you forget it!" Orzin laughs. She smirks, a sinister site on an Arlian, even the gentle looking females. She walks over to Jesse and kneels down beside him, her voice taking on a sultry tone as she lays a hand on one of his thighs. "Would you like me to help you, Jesse? Heal you, or maybe rub it to make it feel better?"

Uub flushes hotly at the slightly seductive Orzin speaks in, and nearly chokes at her offer. Olibu and Hiko laugh raucously at her suggestion while Gemini and the Old Kai giggle pervertedly. Shin chokes and laughs while Kibito's eyes widen in disbelief.

"Evil…woman…heal…me.." Jesse wheezes.

"Only if you promise to provide a….service…. for me when you because a permanent resident of the Afterlife," Orzin replies, resulting in another round of choking/blushing/laughter.

"So…evilll…" Jesse gasps out, "gonna…kill you…again…..when I recover…"

Orzin laughs. "Suuuure you will. Alright, I'm gonna be nice to you."

With that, Orzin places a hand in the air above Jesse's…injured area… and a warm pink glow surrounds it as she transmits healing energies to take away the pain and speed up the repairs in damage. After a few moments, the glow fades and Jesse gingerly rolls to a sitting position.

"Ugh… that… was not one of my finger moments," Jesse grimaces.

"I will remember it for the rest of eternity," Orzin grins cheekily.

"Hush you," Jesse growls, "now, where is my student? I need to have some words with him!"

Uub gulps. Even if he had just beaten his teacher, he had still almost lost, and now Jesse was refreshed from Orzin's healing technique.

Jesse points at Uub. "Why… did you use a such a technique on me?"

"Because he knows it's an excellent way to incapacitate you and that you'll never use that part of your anatomy for its second function?" Orzin giggles, sending Olibu, Hiko, the Old Kai, and Gemini into bouts of laughter. Even Shin, Kibito, and Girin were chuckling. Jesse sends a scathing glare at Orzin. Even Uub manages a weak, nervous chuckle.

"Quiet you." Jesse turns his attention back to Uub. "Uub, that maneuver you used was low, dirty, and totally ruthless. It lacked honor and style, and it had all the finesse of a club."

Uub winces with each description of what he had done. He really admired his teacher, and his opinion meant a lot to him. He lowers his head, staring at the ground.

"But in the end, I'm proud of you." Uub raises his head to look at Jesse, startled. The human Warrior smiles. "Uub, you used any means necessary to win. THAT is what a fight to the death is all about. I was sure that you would either kill me, or get lucky and knock me out, and I was more sure of the latter. But you found a different way to incapacitate me, and in doing so fully defeated me. You utilized the secrets of the Hiten Mitsurugi style with the technique of the ancient Shinsengumi, adding in a few twists of your own, creating your own unique technique. A little more tweaking and you could even have a killing technique with that maneuver."

"You've grown under your training, kid. From Piccolo you learned how to use your wits to their fullest. Among all of the living fighter's on Earth, Piccolo is the smartest, with Vegeta being a close second. Though Master Roshi is quite intelligent and knows a variety of styles and techniques. But from Piccolo you learned how to use your intelligence as well as your instincts to fight. Doing this will not guarantee you victory in every fight, but it will always make your opponent work for it. Even overwhelming power cannot easily overcome intelligence when it is used right."

"From me, you learned how to fight with honor, and integrity. You have learned the noble sword arts, and have only one living equal in them: me. But I have nothing left I can teach you. You cannot teach reflexes. You cannot teach real experience. You must learn the rest for yourself."

Uub nods his head in acceptance. He was being acknowledged by his teacher, the man who had taught him virtually everything he knew about martial arts. Piccolo had taught him several techniques, as well as fine ki manipulation, but Jesse had taught him swordsmanship, had passed down six thousand years of knowledge to him. And he had learned it all in a remarkable amount of time. Not even seven years had passed since the Tenkaichi Budoukai in which Uub's parents had been murdered by Demons and Uub had been taken under the wing of the Z Warriors. Goku had slightly protested Uub learning so much from Jesse at first, until Jesse had pointed out that if Goku taught Uub all of his moves, he would know the basis to counter all of Uub's abilities. However, with Jesse and Piccolo starting out his training, and then Goku giving it the final fine tuning, Uub would be a formidable force.

"You did good, kid," Hiko adds from where he was sitting, "to be able to best Jesse, even using such an unorthodox maneuver, is no easy feat. There are only a handful of swordsmen in all of the Afterlife who could do that. Of course, I am one of them."

"Of course," Jesse snorts dryly. His sensei really was one of the most arrogant men to ever live. But, he could probably back up his arrogance better than any other. Except for maybe Vegeta. But even the Prince of Saiyans had mellowed, somewhat. If you called no longer blowing up planets and being a permanent grouch mellowing. Even Piccolo was more sociable! And just as confident in his skills, but he would admit his limits.

Orzin giggles. "I wish I knew how to use a sword so I could use that move."

"Evil woman. EVIL!" Jesse growls at his longtime friend and, if he wanted to be perfectly honest with himself, unofficial sister. Her only response to him is to laugh. With a pained sigh to hide his small grin, he shakes his head and basks in the camaraderie he had so missed among his oldest friends, his family in all but blood.

- -

1. Paraphrased from the very first episode of Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X, in which Kenshin tells Gohei Hiruma the philosophy of kenjutsu as he has come to learn it.

2. Translated as 'idiot apprentice'. It's Hiko Seijuro's favorite term for Kenshin in Rurouni Kenshin.

3. Rice wine.

4. The point of a katana. Look up katana on Wikipedia for a more detailed explanation, as that's where I got it from. It's an awesome site. All hail Wikipedia!

5. Brat.

6. A style similar to Battou jutsu, the sword drawing technique, but revolves completely and totally around the drawing of the sword, making a quick slice, flicking the sword to spray off the blood, and then sheathing it. I believe Goemon from Lupin III uses such a style.

7. In the terms put there, supreme technique. The Ama Kakeru Ryu no Hirameki is the Ougi of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, the Shun Ten Satsu is Soujiro's Ougi..

8. Literally Last Defense of the Monkey.


End file.
